The British Home Office confirmed on 26 February 2026 that all successful UK-visa applicants will now receive a fully-digital immigration status instead of a paper vignette. The move completes the UK’s multi-year transition to an eVisa ecosystem and applies to both visa-required nationals and short-stay visitors who need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).
![UK Switches to Digital eVisas; Moroccan and French Travellers Urged to Prepare]()
Whether you’re a French citizen planning a quick business trip to London or an HR manager coordinating cross-border assignments, VisaHQ can guide you through the new UK eVisa and ETA procedures. Their France portal (https://www.visahq.com/france/) centralises application forms, document checklists, and live support for dozens of destinations, helping travellers secure digital permissions well before boarding.
Moroccan media outlet Hespress, which broke the story, reports that advocacy groups are pressing the EU — and key Schengen members such as France — to accelerate similar roll-outs in order to streamline border checks and cut administrative costs. Under the new system, carriers will verify permission to travel via an online interface linked to the passenger’s passport; travellers will simply show the same passport at e-gates on arrival. UK officials say more than 10 million people are already using eVisas, and that the change will reduce fraud associated with lost or stolen passport stickers. Airlines, including Air France and easyJet, have begun updating their departure-control software to pull data from the UK’s “Permission to Travel” (PTT) API. For French corporates, the switch means HR teams must register mobile staff for the UK ETA well in advance—especially those holding multiple passports—to avoid last-minute boarding denials. Travel-management companies recommend updating staff data warehouses so passport numbers in booking tools match those uploaded to the UKVI portal. The decision also adds momentum to broader European plans: the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) is due to replace passport stamps with biometric records in April 2026, and France intends to issue its own digital residence cards (“titre de séjour dématérialisé”) later this year. Cross-channel commuters, Eurostar passengers, and French airports operating juxtaposed controls (Paris-CDG, Lille, Calais) are therefore advised to monitor parallel UK-EU discussions on data-sharing protocols to minimise duplication at the border.
Whether you’re a French citizen planning a quick business trip to London or an HR manager coordinating cross-border assignments, VisaHQ can guide you through the new UK eVisa and ETA procedures. Their France portal (https://www.visahq.com/france/) centralises application forms, document checklists, and live support for dozens of destinations, helping travellers secure digital permissions well before boarding.
Moroccan media outlet Hespress, which broke the story, reports that advocacy groups are pressing the EU — and key Schengen members such as France — to accelerate similar roll-outs in order to streamline border checks and cut administrative costs. Under the new system, carriers will verify permission to travel via an online interface linked to the passenger’s passport; travellers will simply show the same passport at e-gates on arrival. UK officials say more than 10 million people are already using eVisas, and that the change will reduce fraud associated with lost or stolen passport stickers. Airlines, including Air France and easyJet, have begun updating their departure-control software to pull data from the UK’s “Permission to Travel” (PTT) API. For French corporates, the switch means HR teams must register mobile staff for the UK ETA well in advance—especially those holding multiple passports—to avoid last-minute boarding denials. Travel-management companies recommend updating staff data warehouses so passport numbers in booking tools match those uploaded to the UKVI portal. The decision also adds momentum to broader European plans: the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) is due to replace passport stamps with biometric records in April 2026, and France intends to issue its own digital residence cards (“titre de séjour dématérialisé”) later this year. Cross-channel commuters, Eurostar passengers, and French airports operating juxtaposed controls (Paris-CDG, Lille, Calais) are therefore advised to monitor parallel UK-EU discussions on data-sharing protocols to minimise duplication at the border.
